TERRORISM HOAXES IN CANADA: Data and Trends

TSAS RESEARCH BRIEF

Empirical research on terrorism hoaxes is limited, because hoaxes are frequently excluded from large sample terrorism events database on the grounds that they do not directly yield casualties or property damage. Some data sources do include information on terrorism hoaxes, but they are limited by their scope of coverage (see Figure 1).
International Terrorism: Attributes of Terrorist Events (ITERATE) covers all weapon types, but is limited to those events that implicate more than one country (Mickolus et al. 2012). The Monterey Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Database (WMDDB) covers any geographic orientation, but is limited to those events involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) weapons (Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program 2012). The Canadian Incident Database (CIDB) covers all weapon types, but only as they relate to Canadian perpetrators, victims, and/or targets (“Canadian Incident Database [CIDB]” 2016). Within this single-country context, it provides insight into the frequency of non-CBRN domestic incidents, which are excluded in ITERATE and the WMDDB.

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The Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society engages more than 280 affiliates to conduct policy-relevant research on the threat of terrorism, security responses to terrorism, and the impact of both terrorism and securitization on Canadian society.